I'm well on my way to making Nelly an outfit from the orange Indian sari ensemble I bought years ago. There's already been two other outfits made from this same sari - one for SD and another for MSD. There will still be plenty of embroidered and sequined sections as well as decorative medallions left over, so if I really wanted to I could piece together something totally different, but I don't feel like doing that - at least not right now - so this will probably be the last.

I have so many more great fabrics like this just waiting to be made into doll costumes, but my commission list keeps me from getting to them. Which only confirms my decision to stop taking any more commissions. I need the freedom to be able to make what inspires me, when inspiration hits, and not have to put away cool new fabrics for years and hope I'm still motivated by it if and when I ever get a chance to use them. I love shopping for fabrics, but there's no point when I never get to use anything new I buy. I have a box full of white Rococo wigs I bought two years ago, which are meant to be decorated to go with fancy Rococo gowns - which I even have all the fabrics for. There's a large selection of amazing brocades for Renaissance gowns for all sizes of dolls. So far I've made a few for the big EIDs, but I think they'd look amazing on MSD dolls too. I'd really like to make a series of dark fairies with bat or raven wings, and I'd love to make some sets of cute Hallowe'en costumes. I'd like to try Elizabethan, Tudor, and elaborate ballet costumes too. I even found a source for doll-size tiaras so I could make a set of high glitz pageant outfits. Ideas are a dime a dozen, but I everything takes time, and ideas flood in way faster than I can turn anything out. Right now all those costumes are just dreams. I better just get back to Nelly's orange dress......

What an amazing, vibrant textile. My problem would be daring to cut into it, afraid of not doing it justice or being overwhelmed by all the detail. I'm very intrigued to see what you do with this -- please, keep us posted on your progress.

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Martha

6/25/2012 06:58:14 am

It's actually a bright, deep orange, but my camera has difficulty with oranges, so photos actually come out a little duller - if you can believe that. Orange is not my favourite colour, but I find the pink details help. It was hard to cut into the complete sari the first time, but now that it's been cut into twice before and has big chunks missing it's not a problem anymore.

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Martha Boers is an award-winning Canadian doll maker and costumer specializing in fantasy and historical-style costumes.Read More...